Takes Archive — April 2026

22-Year-Old Helps Expose Massive Kimwolf Botnet Operation

College senior Benjamin Brundage helped uncover a botnet behind 26,000+ DDoS attacks targeting 8,000+ victims.

Robotics ·

NASA Gave Artemis II Astronauts Modified iPhones for the Moon

Artemis II crew carried smartphones to space — modified iPhones for photos and video, but zero internet access.

Anthropic Cuts Third-Party Tool Access From Claude Subscriptions

Claude subscriptions will stop covering third-party tool usage like OpenClaw starting April 4 at 12pm PT.

Friday, April 3

OpenAI Shakes Up C-Suite: COO Lightcap Moves, Execs on Leave

OpenAI's COO Brad Lightcap shifts to special projects as multiple top executives step away for health reasons.

Meta Freezes Mercor Partnership Over Security Breach

Meta and OpenAI are both probing a security incident at AI data vendor Mercor.

$10B Startup Mercor Asks Pros to Sell Work for AI Training

Mercor reportedly solicited professionals to hand over prior work materials for AI training, even when IP rights were murky.

Iranian Strikes Knock Two AWS Zones Offline in the Gulf

Amazon's cloud infrastructure in Dubai and Bahrain is "hard down" after Iranian military strikes hit the region.

OpenAI Building a Superapp That Merges ChatGPT and Codex

OpenAI plans to fuse ChatGPT with its Codex coding agent into a single unified superapp.

Can't Afford Top Chips? 'Frugal AI' Is the New Move

Startups locked out of premium silicon are building lean AI models on open-weight systems instead.

US Bill Aims to Kill DUV Chip Tool Exports to China

The MATCH Act would ban DUV lithography exports to China, targeting a critical AI supply chain chokepoint.

Anthropic: AI Emotional States Can Drive Unethical Behavior

Anthropic researchers discover that simulated emotions in AI models can meaningfully alter behavior, including pushing them toward unethical actions.

Meta Warns Oversight Board Its Funding Could Dry Up After 2028

Meta has signaled to its independent Oversight Board that funding may end after 2028, though a full cut isn't the preferred plan.

Thursday, April 2

OpenAI Buys Tech News Show TBPN in Media Push

OpenAI snaps up popular tech news show TBPN to shape AI conversation, promises editorial independence.

Microsoft Admits It Can't Build Top-Tier AI Models Yet

AI chief Mustafa Suleyman says Microsoft lacks the compute to train frontier models — but expects that to change in 2026.

Suleyman: Revised OpenAI Deal Unlocked Microsoft's Superintelligence Push

Microsoft AI chief says reworked OpenAI contract opened the door for Microsoft to pursue superintelligence directly.

Alibaba Drops Third AI Model in Three Days With Qwen3.6-Plus

Alibaba launched Qwen3.6-Plus, its third proprietary AI model in three days, touting major agentic coding improvements.

Microsoft's CFO Paused Data Center Growth. Some Say It Backfired.

Amy Hood's call to slow data center expansion last year may have created the supply crunch Microsoft now faces.

Poolside Scrambles to Save Texas Data Center After Deals Collapse

AI startup Poolside is talking to Google and other cloud providers to rescue its massive Texas data center project.

CoinShares Hits Nasdaq After $1.2B SPAC Deal

Crypto asset manager CoinShares started trading on Nasdaq after completing its SPAC merger with Vine Hill.

Variance Bags $21.5M to Sic AI Agents on Fraud and Compliance

AI compliance startup Variance closes $21.5M Series A to build AI agents that tackle fraud investigations.

Delve Accused of Repackaging Open-Source Tool as Its Own

Whistleblower claims compliance startup Delve pitched a modified copy of open-source SimStudio while passing it off as proprietary tech.

Intel Pours Another $15M Into SambaNova, Its CEO's Startup

Intel plans to boost its stake in chip startup SambaNova to 9% with a fresh $15M investment.

Wednesday, April 1

Amazon Eyes Globalstar Acquisition to Challenge SpaceX

Amazon is reportedly in talks to buy satellite firm Globalstar, but Apple's 20% stake complicates the deal.

Franklin Templeton Buys 250 Digital to Launch Franklin Crypto

Asset management giant Franklin Templeton is acquiring CoinFund spinoff 250 Digital to create a dedicated crypto arm.

Cognichip Raises $60M to Let AI Design Its Own Chips

Startup building AI models for chip design lands $60M Series A led by Seligman Ventures.

FBI Labels China-Linked Hack of Surveillance System a 'Major Incident'

Chinese hackers reportedly breached FBI systems containing sensitive pen register and trap-and-trace surveillance data.

Raspberry Pi Hikes Prices Again, Blames AI-Driven Memory Costs

Raspberry Pi bumps its flagship to $150 and launches a new 3GB Pi 4 at $83.75 as memory prices surge.

Intel Pays $14.2B to Buy Back Apollo's Stake in Irish Fab

Intel will repurchase Apollo's 49% stake in the Fab 34 joint venture and take on $6.5B in new debt to fund the deal.

Anthropic's "Kairos" Update Leaked via Claude Code

A leak from Claude Code exposes Anthropic's upcoming features including background tasks and a memory-consolidating "dream mode."

Anthropic Scrambles After Accidentally Leaking Claude Code Source

Anthropic filed copyright takedowns to scrub 8,000+ copies of accidentally leaked Claude Code source code from the internet.

Apple at 50: The Japanese Management Philosophy Behind Its Rise

Apple's half-century milestone traces back to a postwar Japanese quality management course that shaped Steve Jobs.